RAND Report

In the fall of 2005, after a five-year examination of EdisonLearning, the RAND Corporation released an historic report. This report is the first thorough and methodologically appropriate analysis of Education Service Providers. As the report itself noted after examining all of the available “studies” conducted on EdisonLearning by various organizations, “none of the existing studies have produced results that are both comprehensive and methodologically persuasive” (page 15, RAND, 2005).

The RAND analysis provided further information regarding EdisonLearning schools’ performances against a wide sample of comparable schools. In their year-one analysis, RAND found that given time, EdisonLearning schools outperformed comparable schools in subsequent years.

As the report states: “These varied results provide considerable guidance about the range of possible effects. In absolute terms, [EdisonLearning] schools are making gains: Average rates of proficiency in [EdisonLearning] schools improve as schools gain experience with [EdisonLearning]. In relative terms, [EdisonLearning] schools also improve… Although the specific trajectories vary in different analyses, all analyses indicate that the performance of [EdisonLearning] schools improves as the schools gain experience with [EdisonLearning].” (page xxviiixxvix, RAND, 2005)

In addition to detailing the positive impact of a partnership with EdisonLearning on schools, the RAND report recognized the significance of EdisonLearning’s approach in achieving these results:

• “Together, the resources and accountability systems that constitute [EdisonLearning’s] design represent a coherent, comprehensive, and ambitious strategy to address key elements relevant to providing high-quality education.”
• “[The service’s] well-developed information systems and focus on achievement-based accountability should make it especially well-suited to the high-stakes testing environment of No Child Left Behind (NCLB).”
• “[EdisonLearning] has devised a range of strategies to promote in its teachers and principals not only the capacity to deliver high-quality instruction, but also the motivation and opportunity to do so.”

The RAND report demonstrates both EdisonLearning’s impact on school achievement, as well as our commitment to transparency and accountability. For full details, download the RAND Corporation report.